Artist Izzy Brourman Shields Herself From ICE Pepper Balls While Documenting Protests

Isabelle “Izzy” Brourman was on the front lines of Minneapolis protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violence on January 24, the same day federal agents killed nurse Alex Pretti. Brourman, a visual artist working with her partner Peter Hambrecht and friend Jeannette Berlin under the project Starring America News, was capturing the chaos through drawings and video when a masked federal agent fired pepper balls at her from close range.

Thanks to instincts honed while documenting aggressive ICE raids at immigration courts, Brourman raised her drawing board just in time to block the projectile. The board took the hit—leaving a jagged dent and hole in the wood and paper—potentially saving her from serious injury. “My faculties are really important to me and should be for everyone,” Brourman told The Art Newspaper. “It’s such a callous thing to do, that lack of empathy or humanity.”

Berlin and Hambrecht, both former journalists, captured the incident on video from multiple angles, proving Brourman had done nothing to provoke the attack. Berlin emphasized that this kind of violence against peaceful protesters is a daily reality, often undocumented and ignored. “We happen to have two cameras on it, and Izzy happens to be well regarded and people happen to care what happens to her. But this was not the first time that we saw someone be purposefully shot by a federal officer with a ‘less lethal’ round that could have blinded them.”

Rather than intimidate them, the experience has strengthened the trio’s resolve to expose government abuses. Their work combines Brourman’s urgent, chaotic drawings with short-form video portraits shared online, alongside a longer documentary tracing abuses from Trump’s 2023 fraud trial onward. Berlin notes that in an era of eroded trust and shrinking newsrooms, their subjective, authentic storytelling offers an alternative lens that resonates with audiences hungry for truth.

Brourman describes her art as a “survival tool” that helps her process and preserve the increasingly surreal realities she witnesses. The group also plans to tour the country, bringing their visual coverage to smaller communities through pop-up galleries and screenings in a rental van. Their goal is to connect with local organizations and audiences hungry for coverage that reflects their lived experiences—filling the void left by mainstream media’s retreat.

As Berlin puts it, “People need new ways to look at what’s happening because of how exhausted everyone is and how distrustful of one another people are.” Brourman’s openness and willingness to bear witness provide a crucial new entry point for understanding the ongoing assault on civil rights and democracy under the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

For readers tracking ICE abuses and authoritarian overreach, Brourman and her collaborators offer a vital, unflinching perspective—reminding us that art can be both shield and spotlight in the fight for justice.

Read the full story at The Art Newspaper